I've read through reviews, and this looks like a great phone, and the fact that it is a small phone makes it better. But will I be able to have at least root & TWRP without any major downsides?
The camera apparently loses quality, but is there a Gcam HDR+ yet?
If you stay on stock rom, the camera quality will stay the same if you use the DRM-fix.
You'll loose the ability to do OTA updates, tho.
YeshYyyK said:
I've read through reviews, and this looks like a great phone, and the fact that it is a small phone makes it better. But will I be able to have at least root & TWRP without any major downsides?
The camera apparently loses quality, but is there a Gcam HDR+ yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The DRM fix made by sToRm// works on any firmware (next release) and any XZ device.
The DRM that sony installed is broken when you unlock your bootloader and sToRm//'s fix enables it. So there is no loss of quality with the camera, it's exactly as stock. The DRM is fixed or broken, the camera is fixed or broken, there is no half way 'dodgy' pictures that people imagine.
Yes, you won't receive any OTA updates if your phone is rooted, but there is Xperiafirm and Newflasher, to keep you up to date. Then reflash with sToRm//'s app and you're good to go.
In the old days you wanted to root your phone to control all the battery eating apps, but Google/Sony have been aware of the drive to extend battery life for a long time now and with a few exceptions, changing the configuration of the services will probably make your battery worse not better. The battery life on the XZ1 compact is the best of any phone I've had, straight out the box, no tweaking required.
The only other main driver for rooting your phone was to be able to customise it and change the framework colours, but you can do that without root now.
Be sure you want to root you phone for the right reasons, not because it's fashionable, or because you want Xposed installed so that when you press the volume the flash comes on.
There's a chance you'll break your phone in the process, so is what you want to root your phone for important enough to have to buy a new phone for?
I'm not trying to put you off, but if you read sToRm//'s thread, there's loads of people getting into a real mess trying to root when they don't even know what ADB is. They've unlocked their phones, broken the camera, but now stuck unable to get the fix to work. Don't go there.
If you want the Google +HDR camera, check out russel5's [XZ1C,G8441,Lilac]AOSP_8.1 rom, which comes with it baked in
Didgesteve said:
Yes, you won't receive any OTA updates if your phone is rooted, but there is Xperiafirm and Newflasher, to keep you up to date. Then reflash with sToRm//'s app and you're good to go.
In the old days you wanted to root your phone to control all the battery eating apps, but Google/Sony have been aware of the drive to extend battery life for a long time now and with a few exceptions, changing the configuration of the services will probably make your battery worse not better. The battery life on the XZ1 compact is the best of any phone I've had, straight out the box, no tweaking required.
The only other main driver for rooting your phone was to be able to customise it and change the framework colours, but you can do that without root now.
Be sure you want to root you phone for the right reasons, not because it's fashionable, or because you want Xposed installed so that when you press the volume the flash comes on.
There's a chance you'll break your phone in the process, so is what you want to root your phone for important enough to have to buy a new phone for?
I'm not trying to put you off, but if you read sToRm//'s thread, there's loads of people getting into a real mess trying to root when they don't even know what ADB is. They've unlocked their phones, broken the camera, but now stuck unable to get the fix to work. Don't go there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are a few apps that require root that I'd like to use, and a lot of tweaks via TWRP flashing. The main reason really is underclocking the XZ1C, because I really don't need that much power, even if the battery life is already insane.
Thanks a lot though!
Related
Hi,
I have a Z3 Compact running pre-rooted Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. I got a notification about software update that i can't dismiss. i don't know if i should upgrade or not so force stopped the software update app.
What is your opinion about Marshmallow?
Are there any bugs?
Are there new features added and some features removed?
Is it worth upgrading to Mashmallow or should i keep Lollipop?
sorry i can't upgrade without user reviews
You can dismiss the update notification if you want (disable it).
MM has officially been out for only a few weeks and consequently is still full of bugs and problems.
The threads are full of the cries for help from the MM rom jumpers, oh the pain of being an early adopter.
Give it another month, by then it'll fixed.
Didgesteve said:
You can dismiss the update notification if you want (disable it).
MM has officially been out for only a few weeks and consequently is still full of bugs and problems.
The threads are full of the cries for help from the MM rom jumpers, oh the pain of being an early adopter.
Give it another month, by then it'll fixed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you disable the notification? For which app do I have to do that?
Dont update to Mm.. There is some feature that missed..like battery stamina/ultra stamina..and also the battery drain fast..
Im a z3 compact Mm user
+1 for don't do it (now)
For me I will stay for not specified time at LP (mainly because of custom kernel).
Didgesteve said:
You can dismiss the update notification if you want (disable it).
MM has officially been out for only a few weeks and consequently is still full of bugs and problems.
The threads are full of the cries for help from the MM rom jumpers, oh the pain of being an early adopter.
Give it another month, by then it'll fixed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Is it safe to disable software update app?
i don't want unexpected bugs happen or boot loop
evildog1 said:
Thanks. Is it safe to disable software update app?
i don't want unexpected bugs happen or boot loop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The next time you see a notification, hold your finger on the notification and the bar will turn black and you will see an information 'i' on the right side, press this.
This will bring up the notification option.
Alternatively, go to settings\apps\scroll to the right until >all apps > 'update centre'
Then - force stop, untick notifications, clear cache/data
You won't get any more notifications about MM and no this won't harm or damage your phone in any way. Your phone will work fine on 5.1 for years and years, it doesn't need MM
Didgesteve said:
The next time you see a notification, hold your finger on the notification and the bar will turn black and you will see an information 'i' on the right side, press this.
This will bring up the notification option.
Alternatively, go to settings\apps\scroll to the right until >all apps > 'update centre'
Then - force stop, untick notifications, clear cache/data
You won't get any more notifications about MM and no this won't harm or damage your phone in any way. Your phone will work fine on 5.1 for years and years, it doesn't need MM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok i just uninstall updates, force stop, and clear data, but i could not disable the notification.
evildog1 said:
Ok i just uninstall updates, force stop, and clear data, but i could not disable the notification.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have root, then go to the market and install ES Explorer
Open it, go to menu, look at the bottom 'tools'.
tick 'root explorer'
Go back to the top of the menu and find "home/device/system/app"
Look for "com.sonyericsson.updatecenter.apk"
Make a copy and save it somewhere, like Downloads.
Then delete the original in system/app.
If there is a problem you can always put the copy back in the folder, otherwise you will never get another update message again:good:
Didgesteve said:
If you have root, then go to the market and install ES Explorer
Open it, go to menu, look at the bottom 'tools'.
tick 'root explorer'
Go back to the top of the menu and find "home/device/system/app"
Look for "com.sonyericsson.updatecenter.apk"
Make a copy and save it somewhere, like Downloads.
Then delete the original in system/app.
If there is a problem you can always put the copy back in the folder, otherwise you will never get another update message again:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I just froze it using Titanium Backup
and i'm using X-plore with dual pane
Just like when Sony released 5.0 Lollipop, it was full of bugs and the battery life sucked. It wasn't until 5.1 came out that we finally got a usable ROM. Expect more of the same with MM. Wait until 6.1 is released before upgrading. Especially those who are not rooted. There's no fixes and no turning back for those users.
Sent from the only flagship device that can fit in my hand... Sony Experia Z3 Compact
Sorry to bring back an old thread but I just bought this phone secondhand and its on 5.1 and have received the update notification. Have the bugs that are in the above comments been fixed in 6.1 or is it still not worth upgrading to Marshmallow?
warzinak said:
Sorry to bring back an old thread but I just bought this phone secondhand and its on 5.1 and have received the update notification. Have the bugs that are in the above comments been fixed in 6.1 or is it still not worth upgrading to Marshmallow?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me, the most horrible is the delay when opening apps:
Lag manifests on this way: in response to launching app (Dialer let say) "window"/app pops up immediately but is is empty/white and only after a sec/two content shows up (for Dialer recent call list, favourites/frequent contacts, search). Minimizing app and immediately opening again is ok (it is in cache, background, memory), instant content shows up. But if I launch another app after minimizing dialer and then start dialer again - lag in Dialer is there. As if somehow Dialer is killed in background and need to relaunch again from the start (even full relaunch should not take that long anyway). Same as killing it in recent activities. All other stock apps behave this way. It is really annoying to see such a powerfull phone lags in this basic stock apps, as this doesn't happen on previous android versions (4.4.4, 5.0.2 or 5.1.1).
It would actually benefit you to DOWNGRADE to Kitkat...LP & MM are horrible on the Z3c
Fictional Reality said:
It would actually benefit you to DOWNGRADE to Kitkat...LP & MM are horrible on the Z3c
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed, I bought an iPad mini, downgraded z3c to KK and life is good.
I use my phone now for what phones are meant to - calling, occasional e-mail, messaging, weather, etc. Battery life is 4..5 days. The car bluetooth shows addressbook again (did not work with LP, MM).
I use power toggles as lock screen widget for bluetooth, wifi, hotspot switch. Lock screen does not require additional swipe. All other things, in reality, work as they work with LP, MM.
For heavy use larger screen is recommended anyway - for the health of your eyes first of all.
Fictional Reality said:
It would actually benefit you to DOWNGRADE to Kitkat...LP & MM are horrible on the Z3c
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bookworth said:
Indeed, I bought an iPad mini, downgraded z3c to KK and life is good.
I use my phone now for what phones are meant to - calling, occasional e-mail, messaging, weather, etc. Battery life is 4..5 days. The car bluetooth shows addressbook again (did not work with LP, MM).
I use power toggles as lock screen widget for bluetooth, wifi, hotspot switch. Lock screen does not require additional swipe. All other things, in reality, work as they work with LP, MM.
For heavy use larger screen is recommended anyway - for the health of your eyes first of all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? What problems did LP & MM bring to the z3c? If it is just better battery then I think I will stay with LP...(unless its twice as good on KK). The camera quality is important for me, are any of them better/worse than others?
Do I just use a 23.0.1.A.5.77 FTF file from here and flash it using Flashtool as the instructions here? I have not rooted or unlocked bootloader, all stock.
warzinak said:
Really? What problems did LP & MM bring to the z3c? If it is just better battery then I think I will stay with LP...(unless its twice as good on KK). The camera quality is important for me, are any of them better/worse than others?
Do I just use a 23.0.1.A.5.77 FTF file from here and flash it using Flashtool as the instructions here? I have not rooted or unlocked bootloader, all stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is nothing wrong in MM.
Except for some people who do not use phone 12x7.
Since the concept ROM I was wondering why the battery gets empty even if I do nothing with it. The answer was Doze of course. Yes, I tried several ways for activating aggressive doze, but was not satisfied with these.
Then I decided to go retro and KitKat is all I really need, with its working STAMINA.
For camera I use Sony A6000 and you really can not compare real camera with phone.
If you use your phone heavily, please do not downgrade.
If you have smartwatch, please do not downgrade.
If you feel unsure about flashing, please do not downgrade.
If the warranty is dickbutt in your country - please do not downgrade.
If you still decide to downgrade, then yes, your instructions are correct.
NB! The flash will take long time. Be pacient. It seems to be stuck but it just stays in one place for 5..10 minutes and then everything is ok. I have not measured the exact time, but I was horrified at first flash - it really seemed stuck. Perhaps it is just with my phone.
Scared of MM, really?
Firstly its been out quite some time now, especially if you consider N has just been released to the Nexus range.
Stamina mode and Doze are fantastic, I get 2 days+ with my compact and it's on 24/7.
I also have audited my startup items and background apps to reduce load on then phone which pays dividends.
The initial MM upgrade didn't include Stamina but Sony have since released an update bringing it to the masses.
Your call in the end but don't let scaremongerers cloud your judgement, do some reading, reviews from good sources and make your own minds up.
I did and only issue I had, which I know probably isn't just down to MM, was the emergency dialling issue on lockscreen.
3rd party app cured that for me so now the phone doesn't sit in my pocket making random noises and dialling whoever it pleases anymore!
Fictional Reality said:
It would actually benefit you to DOWNGRADE to Kitkat...LP & MM are horrible on the Z3c
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LP running fine for me. I only have 1 bug is video playback freezing while buffering.
asmetoma said:
Stamina mode and Doze are fantastic, I get 2 days+ with my compact and it's on 24/7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got 4...5 days with KitKat, phone is also on 24/7 (but of course, I do not USE it 24/7). No root.
It's not about scare - the phone is too cheap to be scared, besides there are many new phones to choose from with really good batteries.
However, I do not feel that I should change the phone and I like when I do not have to charge it often.
---------- Post added at 11:15 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:13 AM ----------
Perhaps one should take into consideration that the workload of the phones has been increased a lot during last few years. Specially if you have smart devices etc.
Hello,
I am a bit new in this modding, I still have 1 year warranty on my Z3C. I saw that I can officially unlock my bootloader thru sony.com. My problem is that will I be able to remove all the bloatware, disable a few google apps and so on after rooting the phone? I just found a few little bugs after updating my Drive or Maps, it is not showing the user who is logged in. I can cleary see that there are a few apps what are draining my memory or my battery. Is there any kind of application what is blocking the packets? I would like to keep the current ROM, I just wanna modify it a bit.
Thanks
golemka said:
Hello,
I am a bit new in this modding, I still have 1 year warranty on my Z3C. I saw that I can officially unlock my bootloader thru sony.com. My problem is that will I be able to remove all the bloatware, disable a few google apps and so on after rooting the phone? I just found a few little bugs after updating my Drive or Maps, it is not showing the user who is logged in. I can cleary see that there are a few apps what are draining my memory or my battery. Is there any kind of application what is blocking the packets? I would like to keep the current ROM, I just wanna modify it a bit.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depending on where you live(mainly in EU), unlocking the boot loader doesn't void your warranty. Where I'm at I never heard anyone being refused warranty despite the bootloader being unlocked.
If I was aware of how much better my phone would have been with a custom ROM like LineageOS(beware, BT calls are not working yet) or CarbonROM, and to get rid of ALL google crap running in the background and sending in my data (if you want to, you can still flash GAPPS and get the google stuff) I would have done that last year.
Warning though, if you decide to unlock your bootloader, make sure to back up the DRM keys (there is a thread about it), otherwise you will never get them back. If you unlock your bootloader you will lose some Sony stuff, and that will make the camera functions a bit worse. Personally I don't think there was much difference (Z3c camera isn't great to start with compared to my other phones), but there are photo samples for you to compare.
Just by rooting and flashing without unlocking bootloader, there are some ROMs with less bloat. But you will not be completely free.
BrotherZero said:
Depending on where you live(mainly in EU), unlocking the boot loader doesn't void your warranty. Where I'm at I never heard anyone being refused warranty despite the bootloader being unlocked.
If I was aware of how much better my phone would have been with a custom ROM like LineageOS(beware, BT calls are not working yet) or CarbonROM, and to get rid of ALL google crap running in the background and sending in my data (if you want to, you can still flash GAPPS and get the google stuff) I would have done that last year.
Warning though, if you decide to unlock your bootloader, make sure to back up the DRM keys (there is a thread about it), otherwise you will never get them back. If you unlock your bootloader you will lose some Sony stuff, and that will make the camera functions a bit worse. Personally I don't think there was much difference (Z3c camera isn't great to start with compared to my other phones), but there are photo samples for you to compare.
Just by rooting and flashing without unlocking bootloader, there are some ROMs with less bloat. But you will not be completely free.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So there is no option to keep the factory ROM and just simply uninstall bloat and Google Apps?
golemka said:
So there is no option to keep the factory ROM and just simply uninstall bloat and Google Apps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not done it myself, but I heard it's possible with Titanium Backup. Not sure if it works on system apps though (like Play, which is usually the biggest resource hogger and snooper for google).
https://www.howtogeek.com/115533/how-to-disable-or-uninstall-android-bloatware/
I purchased a Z4 from someone the other day and when I got it, it took a full charge, and I've been experiencing some things with it.
1. I had it in STAMINA mode, and it was eating battery. I turned off display effects and turned off the STAMINA mode, and it seems to be behaving better now, but it was shutting off at random when the phone got below 66-68% battery.
2. This screen comes up before the Softbank logo. I know why it's nagging about the sim / SD part (no tray inserted), but the external USB? And what's more odd is that I can give it a full charge and I also updated it using the Sony Companion software. I put it on a charger and let it update the apps and whatnot. It completed successfully. So this part is really, really odd .
I know, I know... people here on XDA HATE the Snapdragon 810 . So I'm probably going to get a lot of "810 sucks, return it, it's crap blah blah blah" posts, but I'd like to hear from someone who's a real tinkerer like me on this one. I feel like with some tweaks this phone could be quite nice as a light / moderate use phone, which is what I want to do with it anyway. Overall, there are some things going for it. Good camera, nice build quality...
I don't know - I'm on the fence here. I could easily swap out the battery in this thing (I have dissembled and repaired many iPads, so this thing is a pushover). I'm not abusive in my use of these devices (tossing them around, getting them wet, etc), and this thing doesn't feel fragile at ALL.
Should I press on and try to get this thing humming, or throw in the towel? What's more, if I flashed it with another ROM / OS, would that maybe have an impact?
I would love some input on this. Thank you guys for reading.
UPDATE 1: After turning off STAMINA and disabling the visual effect for the display, it's holding charge at 78% and not doing the rapid discharge thing again. I think that some of these face-saving "optimization" features are more harm than good, as any veteran developer like me can tell you, if you want to save resources, don't make the machine do anything. Seems counterintuitive in a way, but it's true. I've killed batteries on past phones because of "battery manager" apps. They never work as intended in my experience.
I'm pretty stoked right now about it holding steady on the charge. I'm still debating flashing it with Carbon or Lineage (I'm an old school CM fan). Some input / thoughts on ROMs would be nice to have. Thanks!
I am using this Z3+ Phone from 2+ years with Debloated Stock ROM and still enjoying the Camera Quality. My Suggestions are as follows:
These tips only for Stcok / Modded Stock ROM:
1. Try Greenify App from Play Store. If it not works,
2. Take Backup and do a factory reset. DO NOT Restore Titanium Backup, it is better to install apps from Super Backup or Playstore.
3. If you know how to unlock Bootloader, patched kernel flashing and rooting mobile, you can use the following mods from this forum: FSC & LXT Mods.
4. 4G / LTE will discharges battery very fast, GPS can be set to battery saving.
Useful Links:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-z4/general/guide-safe-bootloader-unlock-restore-t3386915
https://forum.xda-developers.com/xp...-lxt-xperia-tweaks-legendary-battery-t3676719
https://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-z4/development/z3-z4-fsc-improve-performance-reduce-t3673753
Nice! Good info to look into. All feedback that is helpful is great. XDA rarely disappoints.
Something seems to detect water in the ports (impedance change, so sensors, etc.)
but if it only happens rarely or not anymore - it must have been a false positive ?
Yeah, not sure zacharias.maladroit... But it doesn't seem to affect charging or USB connection to a PC, because I've updated, then I repaired it, and it went through without issue both times.
My new thing now is getting the Bootloader to go from unlock allowed: No to Unlock allowed: yes.
I've been doing a bunch of reading from other threads, and the My Xperia option isn't available on this phone. The phone is from Softbank. So there must be some other app or something that has locked it. You know what I'm going to ask next - and hopefully there's some way to figure out how to get this thing to allow unlock. Then, logjam busted, and I can go full-bore getting into putting a ROM on this thing.
So far, I've gotten the battery to stay rock solid. It's been at 79% for a few hours if sitting there. The discharge rate is still a tad fast, but I can swap out the battery without issue if that gets to be annoying.
Thoughts? Again, thanks guys for the info given.
All Custom ROMs having average Camera. So, Z3+ Camera Lovers will stay on Stock to get most from the Camera. If your phone is not bundled with any Carrier, then you can reflash stock using Flashtool even it is still bootloader locked. If you are flashing Stock ROM it is always better to do it with Full Wipe.
Wait...
[email protected] said:
All Custom ROMs having average Camera. So, Z3+ Camera Lovers will stay on Stock to get most from the Camera. If your phone is not bundled with any Carrier, then you can reflash stock using Flashtool even it is still bootloader locked. If you are flashing Stock ROM it is always better to do it with Full Wipe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait... so I can use a stock ROM on this thing instead of the Softbank ROM? What ROMs do I have to choose from? Does anyone have places they can point me to to read more? That would be great...
I see this one...
https://tinyurl.com/yawamgqf
Anybody have any suggestions on one to flash?
Xperia Blog Link for downloading FTF Files directly. You can download any Region Specific, after flashing, it will automatically changes to your country (with SIM inserted only). The difference is only bloatware and regional settings like language and time.
http://www.xperiablog.net/category/xperia-z4/
You can try Xperia Firmware App to download latest, region wise Stock ROM, but you need to decrypt it using flashtool (just few clicks only), Flashtool creates FTF file to flash. Link for downloading Xperia Firmware:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/cr...perifirm-xperia-firmware-downloader-t2834142/
Link for Downloading Flashtool:
http://www.flashtool.net/downloads.php
Check youtube videos to learn how to use those tools
Good morning (or evening according to timezones)
I have recently purchased a new Note8. Even though the performance is mostly great, I sometimes get lag/stutters and the battery is not that great ( I can get about 3h SOT), but if I don't have my charger with me, there's no chance to get home with the phone still on.
My question is if it is still worth it to root the phone and put a custom Rom on it. I have looked through the various custom rom threads and I am tempted to flash one.
However, my main concern is the banking applications (saw that some don't work anymore after rooting).
At the moment I am on the latest official rom (with the october security patch). I mention that I have no warranty (phone bought from other country), so that shouldn't be an issue.
Any thought please? I have been missing from the android scene for a long time, went IOS there for a while, so I am not sure how to proceed.
Thank you in advance to anyone kind enough to read all this
Bogdan
My Note 8 is the first Samsung phone I haven't rooted as I didn't feel the need to! It's quick and my battery lasts all day (I do have it on medium power saving) and have no problems at all. The Device Maintenance seems to very efficiently clean things up for me when it does get a bit sluggish and I do a restart about every couple of days! I'm very satisfied with my SM-9500 256 GB dual SIM from China! I charge wirelessly every night and use my phone as my bedside clock ...
Sent from my SM-N9500 using Tapatalk
robmeik said:
My Note 8 is the first Samsung phone I haven't rooted as I didn't feel the need to! It's quick and my battery lasts all day (I do have it on medium power saving) and have no problems at all. The Device Maintenance seems to very efficiently clean things up for me when it does get a bit sluggish and I do a restart about every couple of days! I'm very satisfied with my SM-9500 256 GB dual SIM from China! I charge wirelessly every night and use my phone as my bedside clock ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your reply. I also use the device maintenance and reboot it occasionally, but battery life seems to he a hit and miss for me. I do keep the phone at max resolution and with a lot of sync on, but what would be the point of having a powerful device if we don't use it
I am also a bit surprised as to the low number of custom roms available. Not complaining or anything, but looking back to my old note 2 experience, there was far more enthusiasm at that time. Though android did get better since then
No benifit... after rooting you can havw viper sound modes (most imp) if you are music lover ..i haven't found anything interesting after rooting. I use stock room with no app removed and only viper4 android install. So there no point of rooting
melavdev said:
No benifit... after rooting you can havw viper sound modes (most imp) if you are music lover ..i haven't found anything interesting after rooting. I use stock room with no app removed and only viper4 android install. So there no point of rooting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. I'll probably leave the OS alone for now
usually i always end up not rooting for the first 4-6 months due to warranty stuff.
But the moment i rooted, i've gained at least a 20-25% increase in battery life with the usual control one can have.
If it's for cosmetics, dont need root anymore for that. not much on exposed, things like Good Lock make it stay away from root edits.
I personally root for a few apps that i use, which some of them have better features when on root. and also for debloating.
Unless you are a developer or a tech hobbyist, I don't see the point in rooting current android devices as they work perfectly fine straight out the box.
Well, when rooting you gain total control, and can run some nice and useful apps that require root, I like viper4A, but as you pointed out, some apps do not run on rooted devices, banking and streaming apps among others, and of course, there is the one very important component that you loose for ever, secure folder
I have to ask this. I needed a new phone a month ago, and I chose to wait for this one instead of getting a Note 9, and now I still don't have a usable phone and have less than 20 days to return this one. When I did my research about my next phone I was told that Sony phones are developer-friendly and tend to have a clean Android experience, on top of that, this phone has a 3.5mm jack with a great DAC. Now I come to find out that not only does this phone come with bloatware/spyware, even though you can root it, in Android 10, OEMs have the system locked down as read-only, and while Magik can gimmick /system to remove apps, there is no way to delete apps installed in /oem.
Placing apps in a directory that is impossible to change is inexcusable, especially when they are:
1) A game no one wanted which will be irrelevant in 6 months
2) A FREE TRIAL APP
3) A social media application not everyone uses
It isn't by mistake that Sony did this, and it tells me that the pittance they get from Activision, Jay Z, and Microsoft matters more to them than I do as a customer. Some will say that it is possible to simply de-activate the apps, at least unlike Facebook, there are no background services still running and collecting your data, but I say that is irrelevant. I own my phone; I should be able to control what's on it.
I was still running Android 8 on my One Plus 3T that recently died, so I'm not familiar with how Android works today. We went from simple to hard, to harder. There is A/B, no more stock recovery, and apparently fastboot is dead and is replaced by a blank bootloader flash mode that only lets you know you are in it with a tiny blue LED? I don't know how viable TRWP and Linage are on a phone like this, which is why I am asking. There is only one thing I know for sure right now: I don't have much time to wait for custom ROMs built from the ground up to develop and mature.
You can disable verity and delete them. However, even if you could remove them, they'll just keep coming back with updates. Just disable them and move on with life.
LineageOS is pointless because you're going to lose the Sony camera. Why spend $1,200 if you're going to do that? At that point, just get a Pixel 4a for $350.
Some will say that it is possible to simply de-activate the apps, at least unlike Facebook, there are no background services still running and collecting your data, but I say that is irrelevant. I own my phone; I should be able to control what's on it.
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You totally can. Again, this is about dm-verity, which most custom roms disable and spoof to appear enabled. However, if you're gonna do this on the official rom, it'll be your job to pretty much delete every single piece of bloatware every time you update your phone. It's much easier to simply disable the packages because the disable setting is retained through updates.
There is A/B, no more stock recovery
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Welcome to pretty much every single device since Pixel 3. This is a Google thing, and has nothing to do with Sony.
apparently fastboot is dead and is replaced by a blank bootloader flash mode that only lets you know you are in it with a tiny blue LED?
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Okay, I'll give you this one. Sony did a piss-poor job here. It took me several hours to figure out that:
Vol. Up + Insert USB cable = blue led = fast boot, for which you need to manually install the Google fastboot driver.
Vol. Down + Insert USB cable = green led = download mode, for NewFlasher flashing.
The only indicator is the blue/green LED, which indicates the various modes.
For future reference, I flashed the RU region firmware and it only came with 1 bloatware: Yandex. Best thing about it is, you can uninstall Yandex. So basically I have the 1 II without bloatware! (Except Facebook, but I use it anyway)
YandereSan said:
You can disable verify and delete them. However, even if you could remove them, they'll just keep coming back with updates. Just disable them and move on with life.
LineageOS is pointless because you're going to lose the Sony camera. Why spend $1,200 if you're going to do that? At that point, just get a Pixel 4a for $350.
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First of, thanks for being cool with your response
Second, I bought this phone for a few reasons, and the camera isn't one of them. For any given phone I want:
1) For it to be unlockable so I can install whatever recovery/kernel/OS I want on it. There aren't many phones like that anymore, at least not in the US.
2) Hardware that will last me at least four years.
3) A 3.5mm headphone Jack with a good DAC.
4) A good, large, color-accurate display.
5) Fingerprint reader.
5) Expendable storage (or a LOT of onboard storage and OTG as a compromise).
I have been using the menu button on the left and back button on the right for eight years now, and I can't fix that on this phone
You totally can. Again, this is about dm-verity, which most custom roms disable and spoof to appear enabled. However, if you're gonna do this on the official rom, it'll be your job to pretty much delete every single piece of bloatware every time you update your phone. It's much easier to simply disable the packages because the disable setting is retained through updates.
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Honestly, the only updates I care about are security updates. If we get lineage or some other mature ROM that can do most of what I want, I'll ditch stock., I only need stock for now. If I do end up updating stock and getting those apps back, I don't mind spending another 5 minutes removing them after the update. I don't like disabled apps for three reasons:
1) If it doesn't disable background services. If you just disable Facebook, Facebook's other services will still keep tracking you and selling your personal information.
2) They still appear in the app menus and stuff, which I hate. It pisses me off seeing COD and a TRIAL for something I'll never, ever, use.
3) I am 99.9% some vulnerability can't exploit them, but I can be 100% sure if they aren't there.
As for why this is all the way it is, I did learn after the fact that it is mostly Google's BS and not Sony. Still, it sucks. I hope I can maybe flash DM variety and disable it on stock.
If I can disable DM variety I'm keeping the phone. If I can't and it doesn't seem like we'll get TWRP and Lineage then I guess I'm getting an Exynos Note 9. I really don't want to though, but those OEM apps WILL haunt me every time I use my phone, touch my phone, think about my phone, or am otherwise reminded I own this phone. Maybe I'm crazy, but that's irrelevant, because that's how it is.
I tried to flash dm variety and disable verification, etc, and it didn't unlock the system, so until TRWP comes to Android 10, it looks like stock in the US is out.
iArvee said:
For future reference, I flashed the RU region firmware and it only came with 1 bloatware: Yandex. Best thing about it is, you can uninstall Yandex. So basically I have the 1 II without bloatware! (Except Facebook, but I use it anyway)
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Click to collapse
You are a god. I looked at the Russian firmware and it doesn't look like it's been dirtied by crazy Putin. You can systemlessy remove all the apps you don't want. I got Magisk and Xposed working on it. I also have 4G on t-mobile, and it lists 5GNR as an option, which the US version did not. To note, I do not have VoLTE or Wifi Calling (not that I care).
I'm going to try and flash the HK dual sim variant just to see if I can unlock the mythical sex sim slot, and also if also fits the bill. I realized that to test dual sim you need a dual sim tray. There is no way to get the Q51 tray to work for this. It doesn't seem that people are selling replacement parts for this phone yet, so right now I can't buy a Q2 tray to test it. I'll circle back around to this in a few months when it becomes time to flip the phone for a Q2, just to see if maybe I don't have to do that.
Thanks everyone for the replies. We could maybe use this as a general TRWP/LineageOS update thread, though I suspect someone will make a new thread as those pass certain milestones.